Assembly Bill A10768

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10768
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               April 1, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  BENEDETTO  --  read once and referred to the
   Committee on Housing
 
 AN ACT to  amend  the  private  housing  finance  law,  in  relation  to
   elections  involving board members, by-law amendments, or dissolution,
   reconstitution or conversion of mutual housing companies
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 5 of section 13-c of the private housing
 finance  law, as amended by chapter 167 of the laws of 2022, are amended
 and a new subdivision 6 is added to read as follows:
   1. Any shareholder vote  involving  the  election  of  board  members,
 by-law  amendments, or on dissolution or reconstitution or conversion of
 a mutual housing company including any votes for  a  special  assessment
 pursuant  to  subdivisions one, two or three of section thirty-five-a of
 this article shall be conducted using secret ballots. Such ballots shall
 be cast ELECTRONICALLY TO A NEUTRAL  THIRD  PARTY  NOT  RUNNING  FOR  OR
 SUPPORTING  A CANDIDATE RUNNING FOR A POSITION ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
 OR HAVING AN INTEREST IN DISSOLUTION, RECONSTITUTION  OR  CONVERSION  OF
 THE MUTUAL HOUSING COMPANY, OR in-person by [tenants] SHAREHOLDERS enti-
 tled to vote in the project; unless such [tenant] SHAREHOLDER casts such
 ballot  using  an  absentee ballot issued pursuant to subdivision two of
 this section.
   5. [No] UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN A BY-LAW  PROVISION  APPROVED  BY
 THE  MUTUAL  HOUSING  COMPANY'S  SHAREHOLDERS AND BY THE COMMISSIONER OR
 SUPERVISING AGENCY, NO otherwise-eligible person shall be prevented from
 being a candidate for, being elected to, or serving on a board of direc-
 tors based solely on that person owing or having owed any amount of  any
 form  of  arrears  to the mutual housing company, unless, at the time of
 nomination, that person currently owes an amount of arrears greater than
 the equivalent of two  months  of  that  person's  monthly  maintenance.
 Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to require or mandate any
 mutual  housing  company to adopt bylaws, rules, policies, or procedures
 restricting any person's eligibility to be nominated, elected, or  serve
 on  a board of directors. [No grounds other than the above arrearages in

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15340-01-6
 A. 10768                            2

 excess of two months maintenance shall be a basis in itself to deny such
 eligibility to any person  unless  specifically  incorporated  in  regu-
 lations  promulgated  by  or  procedures approved by the commissioner or
 supervising agency. Neither a mutual housing company nor the commission-
 er  or the supervising agency may modify in any way the above limitation
 so as to restrict eligibility on the basis of fewer than two  months  of
 arrears.]
   6.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, A QUORUM FOR PURPOSES
 OF AN ELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS IN ANY MUTUAL HOUSING COMPANY CONSISTING
 OF ONE THOUSAND OR MORE SHAREHOLDERS SHALL MEAN NOT  LESS  THAN  TWENTY-
 FIVE PERCENT OF THE SHAREHOLDERS ELIGIBLE TO VOTE IN SUCH ELECTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.